


Via Con Me

by Saanak



Series: Colorado Sun [1]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Carol meets Monica for the first time, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff Optimum, Loads of pining, Pre-Relationship, The College AU no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:40:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23736262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saanak/pseuds/Saanak
Summary: Carol falls flat on her face while running to class. But she meets Maria in the bargain, so maybe it's not all so bad.ORThe (kinda) meet-cute college AU where they're both over-caffeinated graduate students and Maria is a badass single mom.
Relationships: Carol Danvers & Maria Rambeau & Monica Rambeau, Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau
Series: Colorado Sun [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1895704
Comments: 26
Kudos: 123





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First off, this story will probably require a suspension of disbelief stronger than when watching the strangest Marvel movie, because 1. I know next to nothing about the American college system 2. Maria can actually afford to rent a flat with 2 bedrooms while being a student, so, you know, pretty impossible stuff.  
> The title is a reference to the song Via Con Me (Come with me), but specifically the Kora Jazz Trio version, because I'm nothing if not weirdly specific.  
> All this nonsense said, I hope you enjoy!

“Oh my, are you okay?”

“Is there any way we can pretend this didn’t just happen?” Carol asked, already cringing and red from embarrassment.

“I would, but I don’t think that’s going to work,” the really pretty girl said with a smile. Really pretty girl Carol had just fallen in front of. Because she was late.

“And why is that?” Carol asked, because _of course_ she had to ask, instead of running to _not_ be late.

“Well, considering there’s at least seven other witnesses here, the chances of you wiping all our memories is pretty low.”

_Shit._

_Also – wiping memories?_ Nerd.

“Do you need a hand?” the girl asked when Carol didn’t immediately get up.

Carol jumped to her feet, remembering why she had been running in the first place. “I’m good!” She then looked at her watch and groaned – her class was starting in less than 5 min. She started running again, only realizing she hadn’t thanked the girl when she was already several meters away.

* * *

They meet again – or rather Carol sits on purpose next to her - a month later in an engineering class. For a split second Carol thinks the pretty girl will not recognize her but then, “Ah, the fallen hero of the University of Colorado schoolyard.”

“Ouch. I’m wounded. But for my defense, I was in a hurry.”

“Sure you were,” the girl replies, rolling her eyes, the shadow of a smile on her lips.

Carol’s immediately taken with her. “I’m Carol. Carol Danvers,” she declares, holding her hand out.

The girl seems to consider taking her hand, then finally relents in holding out her own. “Maria Rambeau.”

* * *

“Look Carol, you’re…”

Carol doesn’t let her finish. “Amazing? Beautiful? Funny?”

In a _very_ familiar move, Maria rolls her eyes. “Well, right now, mostly a pain in the ass, but that’s not the point. You’re young and free and I –“

“Come on, you’re not that – “

“I have a kid.”

Well, she certainly wasn’t expecting _that._

“I can’t go to this party because I don’t have a sitter, and even if I did, I would have to be back for midnight.”

A kid. Huh. That explained a lot, now that Carol thought about it. How tired Maria often looked, even though she never went to any party _ever_. The random stains on her clothes. Most of all, Carol was amazed.

“How do you pull it off?”

“What?”

“You’re telling me you’re raising a child, _alone_ , on top of studying in one of the top program of this university?”

Maria relaxed. “With lots of coffee and 5-hour nights. And a lot of the teachers know about it, so I can ask for extra time for assignments more easily. Plus my parents help when they can.”

Carl wants to ask all the usual questions, wants to know what the kid’s name is, how old they are, how Maria came to be a mom at such a young age, but she has classes, and so does Maria. So all she does is say “Thank you for trusting me with this.”

“Enjoy your party, Captain!”

* * *

The next time Carol slides next to her with a devilish twinkle in her eyes, Maria already knows she will have to say no. “Nope, can’t accompany you,” she says even before Carol has had time to speak.

“At least let me tell you about it!” the blonde huffs.

“I won’t be able to go anyway,” Maria says calmly.

The twinkle in Carol’s eyes doesn’t diminish one bit, and Maria knows this means trouble.

“How aboooooout,” Carol starts, “you go to the party and I take care of your kid?”

Maria blinks. Once. Twice. Three times. Carol is still looking at her, expecting an answer, so Maria knows she didn’t just dream the last 20 seconds.

“I… what? Why would you do that?”

Carol shrugs, as if it wasn’t a big deal – a Very Big Deal.

“You can never go out, and this whole program is super stressful, so I thought you deserved to have some time off, you know?”

“That’s….” Probably one of the nicest thing anyone has done for her in years. Still, the idea of leaving Monica for the night, even with Carol, doesn’t sit well with her. And it’s been so long since she’s gone out on her own... But shutting down completely Carol’s idea would also be a waste, and Maria has an idea just as the teacher enters the room.

Professor Fury isn’t particularly old, but he already has acquired more quirks than most tenured and much older professors – one of them, and probably the most aggravating one, is that he starts talking as soon as he enters the room. So, after a few weeks, the entire class had learned to make as little noise as possible as soon as the door opened.

Maria gestures to Carol that they will finish the conversation later, and concentrates on what Fury is saying. Or at least tries too - suddenly her idea of inviting Carol over for dinner feels… too much. Which is stupid, she knows. She realizes it’s not even because she’s nervous to introduce Monica to someone new.

* * *

Halfway through the class, Carol notices that Maria’s note-taking is far less legible and neat than usual.

“You okay?” she murmurs, leaning slightly towards Maria to not be overheard.

* * *

As she gets a whiff of apple shampoo and looks into those concerned brown eyes, Maria finally understands why the idea of having Carol over terrifies her. What she had thought of as a tiny crush on a new friend is rapidly turning into a _huge_ crush on a friend. She gulps and nods, avoiding Carol’s eyes, and tries to refocus on Fury.

By the end of the class, she’s calmer, but her nervousness rises as soon as Carol turns to her. “So, whatcha say?”

Maria takes a deep breath. “I… can’t go to that party,” she says, then rushes to say the rest, “but before you say anything, I would like to offer an alternative plan.”

Carol regards her with curious eyes. “I’m all ears.”

The second Maria explains her idea, Carol is vibrating with excitement. She all but drags Maria to the parking lot where Maria’s car is usually parked. “So when should I come over? Do you need me to bring anything? I could bring the beverages! Wine, beer? Wait, do you even drink alcohol?”

It’s only then that Maria realizes that Carol is as nervous as she is. Oddly enough, the thought puts Maria at ease, and she interrupts gently Carol. “How about just a cheap bottle of wine?” Carol stops dead in her tirade and nods, smiling somewhat sheepishly.

“I try to put Monica to bed around 7, so if you want to come a bit before so you can meet her?” Carol’s whole body relaxes, and she nods again, more calmly.

* * *

Maria’s not sure how she was expecting Carol to act around Monica, but she certainly didn’t anticipate that her daughter would instantly fall in love with the blonde - and that Carol would reciprocate the feeling. She leaves them for a few minutes to get refreshments and when she gets back, Monica is sitting on Carol’s laps, babbling about her adventures at her grandparents’ house. And most importantly, Carol is listening intently, gasping at all the appropriate times and awing when Monica gestures wildly.

However, that instant infatuation also means that when bedtime comes around for Monica, the child is _not_ happy about it.

“How about this,” Carol says when it becomes clear that Monica isn’t going to bed without putting up a fight. “I’ll tell you a bedtime story, but you have to promise to listen to your mom and then go straight to sleep.” And to Maria’s astonishment, Monica considers Carol’s offer, then nods enthusiastically.

“Carol, really it’s okay, I’m gonna –“

“Don’t worry, I got this,” Carol says with a wink.

The thing is, Monica _always_ demands a second, and sometimes a third bedtime story when she’s excited, and Maria feels terrible to impose that on Carol.

But at 7.15 sharp, Carol closes the door to Monica’s bedroom like she’s been doing it for ages.

Maria can’t help but stare. “Where were you for the past 4 years?”

Carol shrugs. “I used to babysit when I was a teen.”

And Maria… well Maria realizes she’s never even entertained the idea of someone helping her with Monica beside her parents. Most of her friends were either too far away to help or had slowly disappeared when she couldn’t come to the get-together for the fifth or tenth time. But here is Carol, confidence rolling off her, completely at ease with Monica or even the idea of Maria having a kid.

Maria shakes her head, grinning. “You really are something else, Danvers.” And to cover the fact that her heart is doing somersaults at Carol’s responding grin, she leads her guest to the kitchen for their dinner.

* * *

Carol’s wine is probably the worst thing made of grapes Maria has ever tasted. It’s so bad that they end up pouring it down the sink while laughing. Well – Maria is laughing, mostly because Carol’s disappointed grumpy face is a sight to behold. “How could I have known?! The label said it was fruity and tasteful!” But Maria just laughs harder, and eventually Carol joins her.

When they finally calm down, Carol adds, “I’m sorry though, I really hoped it would be good.”

“I’ll put you on beer duty from here on,” Maria says, winking.

“Now, _that_ , you can count on me!”

They return to the table and finish their dinner. But by the end of their meal, they find themselves still engrossed in conversation and Maria catches herself thinking that she doesn’t want the night to end. Of course, she’s had this very thought countless times when she had exams to prepare for or papers to write, but it’s pretty rare she has that thought when she’s around people.

“Wait, you want to be an astronaut too?” Carol asks, and Maria is suddenly brought back to their current conversation.

“I mean, ideally,” Maria says, putting her head on her hand in contemplation. “Yeah, that would be… I mean, it’s not a dream per se, but it would be pretty amazing.”

Carol nods knowingly.

“What about you?” Maria asks, even if she’s pretty sure she already knows the answers.

Carol grins. “I’ve wanted to go to space since I was about Monica’s age.”

The mention of Monica breaks the spell, and weirdly enough they both look at the clock at the same time. Carol almost jumps out of her chair when she sees what time it is. “Shit! I need to run if I wanna catch the last bus!”

It’s at least a 45 min ride by bus from Maria’s place to the campus and she realizes at what hour Carol will be back on campus – but she can’t drive Carol home, there’s no way she’s leaving Monica alone. So she does the only logical thing. “Why don’t you sleep here?”

Carol stops dead in her tracks, flabbergasted, one arm in her coat. Seeing her friend’s reaction, Maria starts explaining – rambling really – her reasoning, but Carol’s surprised frown quickly turns into a soft smile. “I mean, if you’re sure I’m not intruding…”

Maria simply answers “Of course you’re not”, but it feels like she’s saying something else entirely.

She’s surprised by how seamlessly Carol inserts herself in her night-time routine – the dishes are done in no time and the couch is turned into a somewhat comfortable bed in the blink of an eye.

When Maria hands her a large t-shirt and shorts to sleep into, Carol catches her arm. “Thanks for tonight. I’m glad I got to meet Monica. But I meant to do _you_ a favour and I ended up with owning you –“

Maria is hyper aware of the hand on her arm, but she tries with all her might to concentrate on what Carol is saying.

“Hey, you don’t owe me anything. If anything, I should thank you for the idea, it was a nice change of pace.”

“Well, yes, but you’re still letting me crash on your couch and – “

Maria kisses Carol on the cheek. That shuts Carol up pretty efficiently.

Maria looks at the blush spreading on her friend’s face and feels a familiar heat on her own. “I said, Don’t mention it. And we should go to bed, it’s getting late.”

Carol chuckles. “Yes ma’am.”

As she enters her bedroom, Maria catches the reflection of Carol lightly touching her cheek where Maria had kissed her, and something settles in Maria's chest. She has no idea where this will lead, but she cannot wait to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, kudos and comments are much appreciated! If you feel like sending me a prompt, I'm alexdumas-ghost on tumblr!  
> (Due to some requests (you know who you are), there will be a second chapter posted at some point ;)


	2. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all the commenters of the first part, especially Tripower and Rachel3003, the most thirsty-for-fluff commenters ;) , who made this second part happen!

Carol wakes up to a pair of brown eyes watching her closely. Then notices that what woke her up is the tiny finger poking her nose. She blinks and her brain thankfully doesn’t take too long to remind her where she is and why.

“Hi there,” she says with a smile.

“Mommy’s’not wake yet,” Monica declares. “Why r’ you here?” the child asks in a tone impressively inquiring for a four-year-old wearing bunny pyjamas.

“Hum,” Carol starts while sitting up, “your mom and I talked until very late last night. And she didn’t want me to go back home in the dark.”

Monica watches her closely for a second, then shrugs. “Kay. Can we eat?”

Carol looks at her phone. It’s already 9.30. Not incredibly late per se, especially for a Saturday morning, but she had planned to study all morning. She figures Maria meant to do the same, but she decides to let her hostess rest.

“Sure! Whatcha wanna eat, little one?”

Monica stops her climb of her designated kitchen chair. “Am not little! I’m 4 yeas old!” she declares seriously.

Carol nods gravely. “You’re right. So, what would you like to eat, Captain?”

“What’s Captain?”

“Someone important – usually who’s the boss of a ship.”

“Ships ‘ave bosses?”

As she takes out the ingredients to prepare pancakes, she briefly feels bad for taking over Maria’s kitchen without her consent. But Monica continues to chat with her during all the preparation, and Carol relaxes enough to just keep going. She’s halfway-through making her mental grocery list when she hears movement from Maria’s bedroom.

Carol looks anxiously at Monica, chewing enthusiastically at her third pancake, fingers and face covered in honey, and suddenly prays a deity that she doesn’t believe in that Maria won’t be mad.

* * *

When Maria wakes up, the first thing she notices is how bright her bedroom is. Her eyebrows furrow. She never wakes up so late – or rather, neither Monica nor her own alarm clock let her wake up so late. When she rolls to check the time, her suspicions are confirmed – it’s past 10 – and a cold dread makes her shiver briefly. Did something happen to Monica while she was sleeping? – she jumps from the bed, already calling out her daughter.

It’s only when she opens her bedroom door that she remembers that Carol stayed the night, and she half-stumbles into the kitchen in relief when she sees her daughter is safe and sound and… covered in honey.

She realizes then – while both Carol and Monica look at her with curiosity – that she’s just wearing a huge tee-shirt and _very_ short shorts.

Carol’s eyes travel down, then snap back right at Maria’s face. The blonde looks like she forgot how to speak, reddens, then turns to concentrate back on what looks like pancake batter. “Morning!” Carol finally says in a strangely strangled way, _not_ looking at Maria.

Thankfully, Monica saves them both from further embarrassment. “Mommy! Ca’ol made bweakfast!”

Maria’s heart quiets down. “Yes I can see that hun. I’ll get dressed and I’ll be right back.” She returns to her room, unsure what exactly just happened.

One thing is sure, she needs to thank Carol profusely for taking care of Monica. The type of thanks that pop into her mind at that moment are certainly not PG13, and she berates herself while getting dressed. They’ll get there when they get there, _if_ they ever get there.

* * *

When she returns to the kitchen, Carol is seated facing Monica, sipping from the Diddle mug Maria has had since she was 10. There’s another mug - 'Mom #1'- filled to the brim with freshly made coffee, set in front of a plate full of pancakes. She sits in front of the mug, next to Monica. “Hi baby,” she says to Monica, tickling her daughter in the process. “How are you finding Carol’s pancakes?”

“Hmmmm.” Monica likes to consider questions regarding food very thoroughly – a fact that amuses Maria to no end. Monica throws Carol a sly look. “They’re okay,” she says, in a tone that indicates they’re way more than okay.

Carol puts a hand to her chest, acting shocked. “Just okay? Why, I slaved in the kitchen for sooooo long, and Captain Monica says my famous pancakes are just okay?” She rises up, surprising the two Rambeaus. “I will have to go away, find people who actually appreciate my fine cooking!” As Carol slowly exits the kitchen, still lamenting, Monica jumps down from her chair and runs after her. “Naw, don’t go!”

This was, of course, all Carol needed to come back, grab Monica and sit again, this time with Monica on her laps.

“I _think_ what Captain Monica meant is my pancakes are delicious, thank you very much,” Carol declares with a wink to Maria. She then grabs the pancake at the top of _Maria_ ’s plate, and proceeds to eat it with delight painted on her face.

Maria knows that face. It’s the face Carol makes when they’ve been studying for a while and they take a break to get coffee – good coffee. Or when she tells Maria of the super greasy and full of cheese French recipe she tried the night before.

The thing is, by the time Maria stops staring, the pancake is long gone, but Carol still has profound contentment etched on her face. It’s… breathtaking. And of course, Carol notices the unsubtle way Maria is looking at her.

“Enjoying what you see, Rambeau?” Carol asks with raised eyebrows.

“My daughter eating a breakfast I didn’t have to cook? Sure,” she answers with an easy smile.

The rest of breakfast goes smoothly – Carol’s pancakes getting thoroughly devoured.

And then it’s 11.30, and they both really, really need to be studying. They plan to meet at the library the next day, both having planned to study different subjects for the day.

* * *

Maria walks Carol to the door.

“Thanks for breakfast. But why didn’t you wake me?”

Carol shrugs. “We figured you could use the extra sleep.”

“Are you suggesting that I need more beauty sleep, Danvers?”

Carol knows it’s a tease, knows that she should answer accordingly, with a tease of her own. But she can’t. The whole evening and this morning have been filled with so much gentleness and she can’t help but want more of all of _this_. She knows it was a single evening – and a single morning. But she can’t tease. So she says the truth instead.

“Everyone deserves to sleep in once in a while. And have you seen yourself? Trust me, you don’t need any more beauty sleep.”

Maria doesn’t answer immediately, and Carol fears she’s crossed the line.

“Please go study right now,” Maria says gently, “because if you keep saying stuff like that I don’t know what I…”

Carol studies Maria for a second, trying to understand her meaning. “What – oh.” Warmth goes all the way to her bones, and in an act of bravery she will barely believe in later, she kisses Maria’s cheek before opening the door.

“See you later?” Carol asks with faux-confidence, halfway through the door.

There’s a beat of silence, then she feels Maria grabbing her hand and pulling her back inside. “Get back here, you idiot.”

In an instant, they’re face to face, and to recover her equilibrium Carol settles her hands on Maria’s hips. There’s a sharp intake of breath, but she can’t tell if it’s from herself or Maria.

A second later, they’re kissing, and Carol briefly wonders how she managed to go on for so long without knowing how kissing Maria feels. When they part, Maria grabs her chin for another peck, and yeah, Carol's pretty sure she's not getting any studying done today – she will be too busy thinking about that kiss.

* * *

"Go before I traumatize my daughter for life," Maria says as softly as she can when Carol leans in for another kiss. Carol, to Maria’s surprise, behaves, and kisses her chastely on the cheek, again.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then?” The blonde has the nerve to look like a cat who got the canary when she was behaving like a self-conscious puppy a few minutes before, but Maria can’t stop herself from finding it endearing.

Maria closes the door behind Carol. When she returns to the kitchen Monica is there, playing with a few toys on the table.

“I ‘eally like her, Mommy.”

Maria smiles. “Me too, hun. Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost stopped the story right after the cheek kiss, but I'm no monster, so y'all get a proper kiss! The chin grab is unashamedly inspired by Raelle's move in Motherland Fort Salem.  
> I hope you all enjoyed it as much as the first part. (I know, it's way shorter, but that first part had been sitting in my doc for almost 6 months, while this one... well it was written much faster).  
> I hope Monica sounded okay - I don't spend much time around kids, especially English-speaking ones!  
> As usual, kudos and comments are appreciated, as well as prompts! Take care peeps!


End file.
